Patrick Schillemat, WWC Ambassador, Ontario
Patrick was born and raised in Peterborough, Ontario, and still calls Peterborough home where he lives with his wife, Rebecca, and their two children. Peterborough is also where his interest for law enforcement, and more specifically a focus on mental health interventions began.
After completing his formal education at Fleming College in Security & Risk Management, Patrick began working with the security team for that same college, focusing his continued education all within the mental health sphere to include mental health first aid, crisis intervention to name a few. His journey continued when he enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces as a military police member. Within the CAF, he further his commitment to both serving his community from a law enforcement perspective, all while maintaining a high degree of awareness in the mental health struggles many people, especially first responders, experience on a day to day basis.
His first exposure to Wounded Warriors Canada was actually through his wife, Rebecca, who participated in the Wounded Warriors Run BC while they were posted in Comox, BC. Seeing first hand the toll that his colleagues and many others in the same position experience he knew that he had wanted to do more.
After departing from the Canadian Forces in late 2021, Patrick was diagnosed with PTSD, which only furthered his resolve to take part in working with Wounded Warriors Canada. Since his departure from the CAF, Patrick has been involved in many different fundraising events through which he has either planned fundraising events for or personally fundraised over $30,000 to date.
Ultimately, Patrick’s involvement in the charity is a way that he has been able to give back, to find meaningful fulfilment post military service and further his desire to help the living.
